


When Can We Do This Again?

by plotweaver



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-06
Updated: 2012-11-06
Packaged: 2017-11-18 03:17:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/556290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plotweaver/pseuds/plotweaver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by the song "When Can I See You Again?" by Owl City. A cute piece about Archie curing Ruby's boredom while they're stuck in Storybrooke.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When Can We Do This Again?

**Author's Note:**

> My first work written for this site! I'm excited. Please review. It takes two seconds, but it keeps me happy for much longer!

“I’m going crazy in this boring town!”

Archie gave her a smirk and shifted on his barstool.

“Don’t look at me like that, Arch. I’m serious!”

Her hair frizzed a little on this day, Archie attributed it to the impatience she seemed to be having with everything, and he hadn’t been able to tear his eyes away from it. 

“I know, Ru.”

“I’d do anything to-“

“I know.”

“-get out and-“

“I know.”

“-do something crazy. Instead of being stuck in the same boring town doing the same boring thing.”

“With the same boring people?”

She finally met his eyes and rested the pot of coffee on a potholder.

“You know that’s not what I meant.”

But his gaze had shifted from her face and out the window to his car that was as tattered and out of date as his clothes. 

Never had he done this. Never had he been spontaneous or the hero, but now, in this town, the story had changed. He could write his own. It wasn’t that he hated his previous life; only a certain brunette was just missing…

“Come on,” he said, looking at her with what he hoped was the brazen determination he had often seen at home in her eyes.

“What?” 

“Come on,” he repeated. He wrapped his hand around his umbrella and offered his arm to her. “Adventure awaits.”

For once, unsure of what to do, she turned to Granny who merely offered a shrug and a wink. Ruby blushed. Archie’s heart stuttered. 

She snatched up her coat and looped her arm around his.

“Okay,” she said.

After a few embarrassing splutters, Archie’s car woke up and they zoomed off.

He rolled the windows down to watch the breeze make the red in her hair dance. The sunlight glancing off of every bit of her called every cliché to the forefront of his mind. 

Her beaming expression shrunk to a small smile once she caught him looking at her. She quickly looked for something to busy herself with, gathering her hair in her hands and playing with the knobs on the dashboard.

Seconds later, music buzzing with electric riffs and a happy voice surged from the dated speakers. 

“What is this?”

He could feel the redness spread across his face.

“I- I don’t know exactly,” he said, suddenly very interested in the road ahead. “When the curse ended, all this new music came through the radio. I guess it’s more modern. I like it. It’s cheerful.”

He could feel her staring at him, and he might have seen a flash of a grin out of the corner of his eye.

“I like it too,” she said. And she let the wind go back to whipping and restyling her hair.

The song worked its way into the background of their day. It linked one scenic spot to the next goofy photo booth to the scenic stables, all while bouncing out of the rolled-down windows of Archie’s car. He took her to place after place, delving into history of landmarks and little homages to their land-that-was that she had never known before. 

Just as the sun set the sky on fire with its setting, Archie parked the car behind Granny’s Diner and clambered to get Ruby’s door.

They stood in silence among the outdoor tables and the lights Ruby strung for style. Archie shifted, uncomfortable, but Ruby seemed contented with the silence. She cocked her eyebrow as if she knew what he had repeated over in his head since she first got in his car and was challenging him to say it. 

“I- I was wondering if I could take you out to dinner… sometime.”

“Archie?” He heard a hint of a smile in her voice, but didn’t let that deter him from blazing through his carefully rehearsed speech.

“Well, I’ve only shown you half the town, you see. And I know Miss Ginger’s specializes in pastries, but I bet you’ve never had her vegetable soup-“

“Archie!”

Her face showed consternation, and his voice faltered.

She hopped onto her toes and kissed him on the cheek.

“I just didn’t want you to go through another boring day doing the same boring thing in the same boring town with the same boring people,” he said.

She smiled.

“When I’m with you it’s an adventure,” she said. “When can we do this again?"


End file.
